from the planner & stylist… “I met Helen and Chris over a year and a half before they were to tie the knot and quickly realized that not only a friendship would be formed but that a true heirloom worthy wedding would be the result of it all. We connected quickly over our fifth generation statuses; Helen from Rico and myself from Telluride. From the start it became very clear that not only were we automatically connected in the way only small towns can but Helen was the bride that makes my job a dream. She was focused on the right aspects of her day and was determined to remain authentic to how her and Chris’ love store should be told. Although the couple live in Denver they made frequent visits to Rico and Telluride for hands on planning as we curated their day. The ceremony was hosted at her riverside property in Rico under a tent that was adorned with globe lights in the presence of 100 of their family and friends. The couple opted to forego the traditional bridal party yet had a coterie of adorable flower girls and ring bears. They stood upon a rich oriental rug while her grandmother’s bible rested upon an antique table.”
“Guests departed for Allreds Restaurant atop the Telluride Ski Resort for the remainder of the night. Acoustic guitar welcomed guests as they sipped on his & her signature cocktails as the fall leaves changed before you eyes out the floor to ceiling windows of the venue. The tablescape was rustic yet glam with deep purple flowers, oversized dahlias and gold antlers. Dinner was followed by heart felt toasts from the Mother of the Groom and Helen’s Uncle. The couple danced to ‘When You Say Nothing At All’ by Keith Whitley for their first dance before guests joined them to celebrate. Helen and Chris shared the region they love most with their guests from all over Colorado, Texas and beyond while also keeping family at the heart of it all.”
from the bride, Helen… “Like most little girls, I had thought about my wedding since I was 5 years of age. However, when it came time to plan my actual wedding- oh my, how things changed! Let me take a few steps back and explain how it all started. Chris and I were introduced on St. Patrick’s Day in 2012 through a mutual friend. A friend that I had known from my childhood summers in the San Juans and whom Chris had met during his undergraduate career at Regis University. At first, Chris didn’t want a serious relationship but without any persuasion from me, we soon began to have dinner together every evening and from there, our relationship flourished. Chris and I had begun discussing moving things along and getting married. My type-A personality kicked in, and I expected to plan everything down to the proposal. Chris, knowing me so well, devised an elaborate plan to propose to me without my knowledge or input. He skipped over Christmas, New Years and my birthday (February) and proposed in March during a weekend ski-trip in Telluride. I was shocked and the happiest girl in the world – my favorite person proposed to me in my favorite place. I immediately started planning! Chris, a native to Texas who had spent his high school years in Washington State, had friends and family scattered all across the country. And me, well I had family on both sides of the U.S. too! We knew we were going to get married in Colorado – it is a ‘halfway’ point, where we met, and where we loved to be. It was Chris who suggested we get married in Rico, Colorado. This suggestion made my heart-melt since this little town in the San Juans was where I considered my home to be, where my fondest memories had been created and where I felt the love of my parents most. Upon all the joys and excitement of planning a wedding, I had lingering sadness as both my parents had already passed away. This was going to prove to be very hard as I was a Daddy’s girl and my Momma’s world. So, the suggestion by Chris that we should exchange our vows in such a special place spearheaded the rest of the planning!”
“My vision for the wedding: Growing up in the world of theatre (behind the scenes), I had learned a lot about staging, the use of color, the desire to bring dimension, and the ability to keep with a theme. Knowing we were mostly going to be surrounded by Aspen trees, I knew I wanted to use a contrasting color, leading me to the selection of aubergine. This color selection was also nod to my mother as purple was always one of her favorite colors. I wanted to keep everything else simple and elegant utilizing white, ivory and cream colors. I felt this combination would accentuate the colorful outdoors while grounding and highlighting the event. I wanted the reception to be classic with a rustic-edge, white and ivory flowers would be perfect for this too! The Ceremony Tent- Gathering Space: I wanted people to feel cozy and together while in one of the vast valleys of the San Juans. A tent, some chairs, a little mood lighting, and flowers completed this feel. I wanted to I also wanted a non-traditional altar space. Chris and I had briefly looked at some spaces in Denver and our favorite was a clocktower- so I brought the clocktower to the outdoors by hanging a large wall clock behind Chris and I. We also used a Persian rug (something I know my mom would have done) to help define the space, an antique tea-cart, cut Aspen logs, and fresh flowers to complete the look of the space creating a single identity for the great outdoors. The Reception- Time to Party: Chris and I selected Allred’s Restaurant resting at 10,500 feet because the view are outrageous, the food is delicious and the decor is stunning. I only needed to enhance a space rather than creating a space. Allred’s offers stone walls, antler chandeliers, and refined-rustic decor. To make this event unique to the style of Chris and me, we decided that we would simply want some flowers and greenery, candles in mercury glass votives and gold-painted antlers. I was inspired to include antlers in the tablescapes to bring the element of the antler chandeliers down.”
“Invitations: I was lucky to be able to work with a graphic designer, Roxanne Esquibel of ReDesign. She and I sat down and discussed layout, color options, and paper. Roxanne has an amazing eye and understood the words I was used to describe the ‘feel’ and ‘look’ I was trying to achieve: modern, refined rustic with simple elegance. After seeing her finished product, I knew I wanted to combine some old with the new through the use of vintage stamps. The stamps added an element of color to the exterior of the envelopes, a feel of something older and yet something new and elegant with the calligraphy of the addressing. The Dress: I tried on at least 25 dress in 4 different salons and in two different states. I knew I wanted a dress that was dramatic and had a train. I also needed to find a dress that didn’t remind me of the top of lemon meringue pie as that is what my father said that all wedding dresses looked like to him. There were a lot of different styles that I liked and I had narrowed my search greatly when, on a spur of the moment decision, I book an appointment at Little White Dress in Denver and chose to go on my own as to not have all the feedback and opinions drown out my own thoughts. I saw a Matthew Christopher gown and was hesitant to try it on because it seemed too modern. However, my dress consultant suggested I try it and so, just as my appointment was ending, I tried it on. It was truly the first dress that I didn’t want modify left and right. I instantly loved how I felt in it AND it was the first dress that I didn’t have to ask ‘can the train be extended?’. This Matthew Christopher gown embodied how I wanted to wedding to feel overall…a little modern, with this vintage rustic flare and just a ‘little rough around the edges’. Most importantly, I felt like a beautiful bride and that that was the dress I wanted to walk down the aisle in towards my future husband. Other notes: While going through some my families things, I found the mink stole that I wore after the ceremony. It was my grandmother’s and fit me like a glove (she stood at 5’11” just like me!). I also came across a garter that was gifted to my grandmother for wedding as a ‘something new, something blue and penny for good luck’. The note is addressed to Helen as I am named after my grandmother. I used the garter as my ‘something blue’. My boss and mentor, Cydni, loaned me a sterling silver compact mirror from Tiffany’s for my ‘something borrowed’. My dear friends, and neighbors in Rico gifted me a beaded clutch that was their mother’s and she had carried it when she won Miss Texas, the moment I saw it I knew it was going to be my ‘something old’. For ‘something new’, I found a pair of Stuart Weitzman heels in the most perfect color of aubergine.”
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